What are you Reading? (August 2023)
I've put together a collage of some books from last months What are you Reading? post. It's mostly random, but the more discussion something gets the more it stands out to me. Going forward I'm going to make a new post every month to talk about what people are reading.
Here is last months post. What are you Reading? (July 2023)
At any rate, what are you currently reading or plan to read in August?
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Currently reading 11-22-63. Pretty bloody grim and depressing in places, but good enough to hold my attention.
Finished Locked In by John Scalzi not long prior. Great thought experiment considering it was written long before covid too.
Read Locked In recently and really enjoyed it! Would recommend it to anyone looking for their next adventure. Police procedural meets sci fi and a very satisfying read.
I got about half way through 11-22-63 some years back. I think King is just too much bloat for me much of the time or I need to be in a different frame of mind to read him. I've always said I'd revisit it, but I haven't.
I find the audiobooks good for long drives when I’ve got time to kill, but can understand you sentiment.
I did used to listen to them back when I often had a long commute. I have a harder time focusing on them if I'm not driving though. But that may be a better way to get into some books that aren't working for me. Especially if the narrator is particularly good.
Read 11-22-63 recently while on a king kick. Love his ideas and was disappointed in the Hulu show, so I went to the source. Illustrates how difficult it would be as a present day man in the sixties. Modern, tolerant ideals clash with the racism, bigotry, ignorance of that era. With some time travel stuff every now and then to remind you this isn’t just a book about the sixties. Still a believable fantasy and compelling read . “The past is obdurate”
Ooohh I loved 11-22-63. Had to go and read IT as soon as I finished, so I could get some of the references.
I'm 6 books into expanse series, and I've kind of lost steam with it. Might need a break. Read bobiverse in full just before it. First children of time book was good but didn't know if I wanted to read book 2.
Also loved project hail Mary and the dark Forest/three body trilogy.
Any other suggestions?
I have Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy on my shelf waiting for me to finish The Expanse series. Maybe that?
Also, book 7 of The Expanse becomes a lot easier because you stop having the TV show to compare to. And let me tell you, you think you know what Duarte is doing on Laconia, but my friend you don't. The prologue of book 7 has one of those "I'm sorry, WHAT" moments that really launches you into the next story arc
Yes yes yes red mars is amazing. At first I was like oh great another 600 page scifi novel, but Holy shit is that some classic hard scifi that draws you in. The literal world building and charecter development is fantastic.
Thatars trilogy took me by surprise. At first it felt slow and dry, but I kept on. It definitely is a unique perspective on colonization and I really enjoyed it in the end.
I’ve been debating starting the Expanse book series. I was a huge fan of the show but never read the books. Watched the whole series twice now. Is it recommended to star at book 1 or would it be advised to start at like book 7 so it follows the series?
I really think the books up to #4 Cibola Burn are worth the read. The TV series is kind of like a final edit of the books, and it's really fascinating to see the changes the authors chose to make. But you get a lot more detail about the situations and the larger impact in the books.
That said, I reeeeally struggled with books 5 & 6 for only one reason: I hate Marco Inaros SO. MUCH. Which honestly just demonstrates how good these authors are. It was really hard for me to walk though the Inaros plot after having seen it through to completion in the show.
But now on book 7, I'm flying though the book again because I need to know where all of this is going and how our beloved characters are gonna get themselves out of this one
@Chetzemoka @sciencefiction
I very much share this experience with the series. Book 5 and 6 were the low point. I was more interested in the world building and everything related to it, and less so in the human conflicts. Final three books were great again, and eight probably my favourite in the whole series.
The show stays pretty true to the books, but there's enough differences that I'd recommend starting with book 1.
Biggest change I can think of is Drummer. The show's Drummer is like 3 or 4 characters from the books rolled into one. Book Drummer had a smaller roll.
I'm currently half way through the third book of the Children of Time trilogy. I LOVED book one. I think having just read "Other Minds" (Peter Godfrey-Smith, great non fiction about the mental processes of [the animal starring in the second book]) a while back made me appreciate the second book even more than I would have otherwise.
The Messengers by Lindsay Joelle is a short story only available on audible (free for members). It kind of reminded me of Children of Time and I really liked it.
Different style, but I liked all the books you listed and also loved Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut- time/space travel as envisioned in the 1950s.
And I just went: "Children of time trilogy? That one only got 2 books!"
Seems like at some point in 2022 it has grown to a trilogy. Nice! Thanks for pointing that out, I now know what I'll read next :D
The third book is very different to I the first two, but I enjoyed it all the same
I may circle back to book 2 of children of time... Thanks.
Book 7 was a bit of a drag for me, more so than book 6. Books 8 and 9 are really fast paced and good. It's all proto molecule stuff. I remember not caring about the free navy and just wanting to get on with the larger series plot during 6 and 7. You may have to trudge through those to get to the good stuff though.
Good to know. Also I mis spoke, I'm mid book 7 and kinda bored at present
Well, if you like space opera try Honor Harrington. The first book is called "On Basilisk Station"
Try the revelation space series, they are a little slow at times but I really enjoyed them
Im halfway through The color of magic by Terry Pratchett, I've read a few other discworld books but I thought it was time to start the first book an try to read them all in the "right" order.
Listening to Making Money, read it a few years ago. Pretty good though I'm not a huge fan of the voice actor doing the reading. it's tolerable though. Pratchett is what got me into sci-fi and fantasy, he'll always be one of my favorites and always holds up when I go back to something of his.
I read a lot of other Rincewind stories first, and I have to admit that getting the story from "The Color of Magic" explains a lot.
The later books, surprisingly, don't spoil the main gag, at least in my vague recollection.
It's probably the weakest of the Discworld books (at least from what I read of them). You can tell that he's still developing the world and it's much more just a fantasy spoof as opposed to the social satire masquerading as fantasy spoof that those books then more and more turn into.
Frank Herbert's Dune
Project Hail Mary. Paid more than I liked for a single book but quickly found it is one of my favourite books of all time!
Just finished Leviathan Wakes today. Can't wait for my Amazon delivery of Caliban's War.
Gave these a go after getting a bit bored of the series and wow, I wish I read them before spoiling the story beats for myself by watching it
Still, once you get past where amazon are leaving the series it gets even better - screw Cas Anvar
Finished the last book and immidately read Memories Legion, which I heartily recommend too, fills in some interesting gaps and interactions that were only lightly touched on throughout the series
I loved the series, but i think the books make the main characters much more relatable while the series makes the secondary characters really shine. I've been reading all the books, but have thrown other things in between like LoTR, The Foundation, and Hornblower which has made me excited to start the next Expanse book.
My favorite series, enjoy your read
I wish I could forget and reread entire series without knowing how it’s going to unfold.
Great books, Leviathan wakes was an intense and exciting book you are really in for a treat with the rest of the series.
I'm about half way through The Fall of Hyperion. It's great
Just finished Hyperion so I guess that will be soon for me. Might read something else in between first though
The Bobiverse books were great. Can't wait for more. I've been reading Expeditionary Force which is where the Skippy's come from. Also Rythm of War by Brandon Sanderson.
4th book was a huge let down. Dragged on and on about really nothing.
I really enjoyed Heaven's River, but I also enjoy a slice of life book, and really liked all the world building with the otter world, I can definitely see where you are coming from though.
Fuck, Rhythm of War is awesome. I might have to go back and read the whole Stormlight series with my kids.
Wool by hugh howey
Wife and I watched silo and enjoyed it so I thought I'd read the books.
You can buy the books DRM free off his website https://hughhowey.com/books/wool/
Make sure you get all 3. Wool shift and dust.
How did you like the show? I read the books when the came out and just remember snippets of them. I sure enjoyed them, though.
We liked it pretty well... A lot of the internet didn't like the accents.. but meh what ever. Over all it was enjoyable and I look forward to the next season.
The book is a smidge different but the changes they made are for the benefits of the viewing audience.
Can I read drm free books on a Kindle?
I don't have a kindle, but according to my buddy, Amazon assigns an email address for every Kindle, so you just email your DRM-free books to that address and they show up on the Kindle.
Ah thanks! I'll look into that.
No idea. :( I'd assume since it's a version of Android you'd be able to install an app that reads those files.
"Between the Stars" by Kirk Maxwell.
Got it for a few bucks on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.ca/Between-Stars-Kirk-Maxwell/dp/B0BQ99KRVB
Thanks I'll check it out!
Children of Time - It's fantastic. Easily digestable space fair about giant intelligent spiders in their war with ants. Humans are involved but I care little for them. Not going to lie, I'm mainly there for the chapters narrated by the spiders and they are expectional.
I'm currently in the middle of Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds. I'm only about 15% of the way through so I don't have a great picture of what is going on or what it is about yet. It seems like the main premise is about an archeologist who has been working on an excavation of an ancient species on a distant planet for an extremely long period of time that likely has far reaching implications about the universe. I've definitely never read anything similar to this in the past.
The other book I plan on reading (listening to) is The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers of which I know basically nothing about. I tend to listen to a book whenever I can't read such as when I'm driving or bathing and then read at times that I can like before sleeping. I find it is a good system to get through 2 books at once.
Revelation Space, the only book within which I saw the word “triumvirate” used outside of the “Our jimmies are eternal. None can rustle the Triumvirate.” meme.
If you want to get a wider feel more quickly of the Revelation Space worldbuilding, try Galactic North which is a short story collection featuring many varied shippets featuring characters from the main series.
To an ordinary person not interested in sci-fi world building, I would be more inclined to recommend Reynolds's Pushing Ice or Century Rain which are self-contained.
Galactic north really got me deep, after finishing the main trilogy. Id recommend reading it after for the full effect
House of Suns is also fantastic. It's my favorite one-book sci-fi anything ever.
I really enjoyed reading TLWtaSAP.
It was incredibly refreshing in that it was almost just slice-of-life at times; so much time was dedicated to just getting to know the characters in not necessarily extreme scenarios.
Just finished the first three books for Red Rising. Really loved it. Not sure if I want to start the next part of the series. I just want the main character to be happy. Can't take more of his torture.
Lol I feel this comment in my bones. I’m trying to emotionally prepare myself to read Lightbringer.
Working my way through Dark Age... I don't think this dude is ever allowed to catch a break
I like how this mentality is still a thing years later. I read the first three as they came out, thought "what a great trilogy!", and then "Oh no..." when I saw it was going to continue. Even if it's great, I'm of your opinion, I just want the main characters to be happy already! I still haven't read the sequel trilogy to this day, lol.
I just finished Project Hail Mary and just started The Passage.
Neuromancer, count zero, blade runner (do androids dream…), burning chrome. Lots of cyberpunk stuff lately
Add Snow Crash to that list. One of my favorites
I'm only 30-50 pages from finishing but life keeps getting in the way. So close...!
I really need to read Neuromancer at some point. It seems like one of those classics that every science fiction fan should have already read.
I recall reading and enjoying Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep along with Man in the High Castle and A Scanner Darkly a while ago... I should attempt a re-read.
Everyone recommends Neuromancer, but when I tried it a while back... I got stuck in the first third and give up. I vaguely recall it had a lot of world building, which I'm not a huge fan of (at least at the time).
I just started reading Neuromancer last week after finishing Asimov’s Foundation trilogy.
Currently reading The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi.
I love the Old Man's War series.
Just finished book 1 of Old Man’s War and am 1/3 through Ghost Brigades now. I am enjoying the series and happy that it’s got some long legs with the number of books available.
That whole series was so much fun!
Currently listening to The Dark Tower 7 and about to start The Fall of Hyperion. I’m new to The Hyperion Cantos, but the first book hooked me so I’m looking forward to diving back into it.
I'm a big fan of both series.
Just started Ancillary Justice by Anne Leckie and seems great so far. I have no idea what is going on with how people are gendered in the various languages but I'm looking forward to puzzling it out.
The best way to describe those books is "subtle."
I loved them, and translation state feels like the start of a new series in the same universe. The worst part is how often Anaander Mianaai is written and how that many 'a's just fail to compute in my head.
I listened to the audiobook. The narrator did all that heavy lifting, and I've got to say she was great!
She was fantastic!
However her reading of translation state involved the most guttural pronunciation of grandmama I've ever heard
Haha, yes it did 🤣
I stopped in the middle of the first one. It was too much work to keep track of what was happening. Maybe I’ll try again.
I've finished them now, and I can safely say that it's only really the first half of the first book or so where things are confusing. It does get quite good as well, so it might be worth your time.
I loved all the ancillary books. IMO not knowing anyone’s gender for sure was part of the fun. It does rely on the reader to work at making connections tho. I can see why some folks don’t like that aspect, but I personally like some challenge.
I recently read "A Memory Called Empire" by Arkady Martine. It's the first book I've read by her and her writing style got me good. Her background as an historian shines through in the Empire she crafted. She won a hugo or nebula for the book but I can't be bothered to look it up at the moment.
Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It's been a while since I read anything of his and I'm loving it.
Maybe my favorite of the series so far, and definitely the best ending of the three. That book goes places, some super heady hard sci fi.
That's good to hear. I absolutely loved Time but didn't enjoy Ruin anywhere near as much, so I didn't read Memory. Might have to get on that
Yeah definitely recommend it. It was one of those “okay I need to immediately evangelize this series to multiple friends because I need them to get to the third book in the series” moments when I got to the last few chapters. It’s really good.
Oh this is great to hear, I love Ruin and Time, and havent read Memory yet. So if thats even better, woah
I was re-reading The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein, which I read about 15 years ago and really enjoyed (even bought it for a friend as a gift). On the second read through... I found it much less entertaining (though the connection between the computer and the current LLM/AI hype is interesting), got about half-way through and basically stopped. I probably won't finish it, which is kind of sad. Oh well, tastes change I guess.
Is that the one with all the complicated relationships? I found it a little too detailed on that point, but otherwise a good read. I wouldn’t read it again though. I read Rendezvous With Rama around the same time and liked that a lot more.
It is about a revolution on the moon, and it had some complicated relationships (a very different society where there "clans" and basically open marriages), but I don't it was that bad. My current issue is that I can kind of see through libertarian ethos that permeates the book and at some points it's basically Heinlein pontificating instead of moving the story along... which my younger self enjoyed. Now? not so much.
I'm on the second book of Hugh Howey 's Silo Trilogy. Loved the show, loving the books even more
I'm about a third of the way through the first book. It has been really hard for me to take time to focus long enough to read, so it's my first real book in a long time. I've missed it.
OMG I loved the books. The show is making me want to go through them again but I have a stack of books I bought last year and still haven't read. I'll probably read Silo again though it is so freaking good.
"Roadside Picnic" is incredible. The Sttugatskys were prolific Soviet SF writers, and well worth a look; "The Doomed City" is another banger.
This is one that stuck with me LONG after I finished reading it
Just about to start Memories of Ice, book 3 of the Malazan Book of the Fallen.
Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers.
Such amazing, lovely sci-fi that touches on so many topics.
Last one is based in a really nice intergalactic truck stop. Or like an airport hotel maybe.
And I didn't realise it until my second read-through, but it's basically all about cross-species accessibility/accomodations.
Really beautiful stuff.
Currently on book 4 of the Horus Heresy. I read a lot of sci-fi and somehow missed out on the 40k universe so I'm trying to make up for it.
I'm actually going through this myself as well! Currently, I'm just starting book 2. Seeing the "before", noticing how mindsets were often the complete opposites, then watching the very beginnings of the shift towards the 40K universe everyone is familiar with—it's all fascinating.
I was planning to do the first 3 before taking a break to give some other things a shot. It's fantastic, but I don't think I'm ready to wholly dedicate myself to the 50+ books in the series just yet.
The three body problem series is absolutely the best sci fi book series I have ever read. Can’t recommend more. Just finished the last one the other day, and the third book is mind blowing. It was written by a Chinese author so it feels foreign to me as an American, and a lot of cultural differences are very apparent but the translation was masterfully done by the authors son so it stays very true to the original source.
The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage
It's a surprisingly engaging read, even though the events occurred in the 80s. Computer security was non-existent.
I'm stuck in the third trisolaris book. Can't get into it really.
Currently on book 3 of the Bobiverse. Most fun, zany scifi I've read in a while.
Edit: Seveneves was fun too, currently also reading Termination Shock. We really need those "earth suits" I think ...
I’m finally starting House of Leaves with a book club from work. I have no idea what to expect other than weirdness, and I am very excited!
The amount of existential terror that book engendered was off the charts for me. I still have vaguely, yet inexplicably, terrifying dreams of rooms and hallways magically appearing in my closet
Wow, that's a title I haven't heard in years. That book was a rollercoaster for my buds and me back 20 years or so ago. I'd love to read it again, but it's certainly something.
I just finished The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz. Its so fucking good, amazing worldbuilding, story and message. It really explores all the potential interesting ways that you can envision different future worlds in ways that other SciFi often doesnt. I've never read anything like this before.
Currently reading Blindsight, I'm honestly surprised how many people get interested when I tell them I'm reading about space vampires.
Needed it to take a break from all the new to me ideas in three body problem. Learned lots about chinese history. Wasnt ready for the second one.
Blindsight feels like all the scifi trope bundled together.
Finishing off Abbadons Gate. Managed to get back into it after many months long break.
On vacation and just powered through The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi, Children of Memory - the latest in the Children of Time series - by Adrian Tchaikovsky and Terraformers by Annalee Newitz. All excellent
Most of my favorite books are by Asimov, Bradbury and Heinlein; but "Kaiju Preservation Society" is one of the rare books for me that rocketed into my all time favorites.
Wow that’s interesting to hear! I wouldn’t put KPS stylistically with those classics at all, but yeah, I really enjoyed it. A great summer page turner , it seems destined for some kind of adaptation.
Just finished KPS. Kind of a comedy / sci-fi romp. Not too serious. Lots of friendship humor. Interesting story. Definitely not in same category as heinlein, etc. But I liked it. It was a lot lighter than I was expecting.
Couldn’t agree more. A fun romp, not very serious. Very light hearted.
KPS is certainly not at all like Heinlein's most popular stories; but I think fans of Heinlein's young adult fiction (i.e. Red Planet, Starman Jones, The Star Beast) would enjoy KPS - for the tone/style reasons you mentioned.
Edit: Just speculating on how/why the comparison to Heinlein keeps coming up for me.
We are Bob is a great series, doesn't got something that fine in a time.
I'm on book 13 of wheel of time and am planning to do a re-read of the extinction cycle again after I finished wheel of time, I just love those books
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson. Great book, beautiful vocabulary
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett. It's my first time reading his work and I am absolutely loving his sense of humor.
In July, I finished The Lords of Uncreation (and therefore the Final Architect trilogy) by Adrian Tchaikovsky, read the newest Lee and Miller Liaden novel Salvage Right when it arrived, then zoomed through Wool, the first of the Silo books.
Currently, I’m reading a Star Trek novel Agents of Influence by Dayton Ward. It’s a sequel to the excellent Vanguard and Seeker series set in Star Trek’s 23rd century. Not sure what’s next.
About halfway through Lords of Uncreation, the third book in the Final Architecture trilogy by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
They are to space opera what his children series is to hard science fiction. It has imaginative aliens that resist monoculture stereotypes and ominous, seemingly implacable foes. The technology never descends to Star Wars' (for better or worse), but standard tropes like FTL and gravitic control are all fundamental assumptions. However, once those assumptions are made, everything that follows is consistent and reasonable to the setting.
The cast is diverse, interesting and entertaining and the pacing is nothing short of breakneck.
I recently read the Final Architecture trilogy and it might be one of my all time favorites now. I would highly recommend it for anyone who is a fan of space opera.
I felt comfortable recommending anything by Adrian Tchaikovsky, but I'm pleased to hear it isn't just me that's enjoyed these books!
Just started player of games and I'm really enjoying it! My first Iain Banks book, but definitely not my last.
I started reading The Culture books this year, already on book 7, amazing series!
I'm on Matter and I'm loving it! Player of Games and Use of Weapons are my favorites in the series so far but I've loved each of them for their own reasons (with the exception of the short story collection State of the Art, it was fine but the rest of the series is on a different level!)
Indeed. Do you have a suggested reading order?
Here's my input:
Use of Weapons is great, and comes next in the publishing order.
Consider Phlebias is the first published culture novel and it is a good book. I read it first, but since it gives a more outsider perspective on the culture it probably wasn't best to start with.
Either of those books is my recommendation, although be aware I've only read 4 of the 10 novels. Also as far as I know the books are generally self-contained and can really be read in any order, but there are some references you won't get if you do so.
Excession is my favourite. There's very little cross-over between Culture books, and not all of Iain M Bank's books were set in the Culture (of those, I think I enjoyed The Algebraist the most).
Banks' passing was a huge loss. I don't think there's any other author quite like him.
I'd say read them in release order, you can mix the first two but stick with the way he wrote them,
You might want to go for Consider Phlebas next. Technically you don't have to read them in order as they are self contained stories but there are some overarching aspects that do develop across the books.
That said, Surface Detail was definately my favourite of the series
I just finished reading "Fair Play", which is a book on the division of unpaid/unseen labor in households. Next up we have "Thriving with Adult ADHD", "The ADHD Effect on Marriage", and "Organizing Solutions for People With ADHD".
Can you guess the current issue in the Porcupine House? 😅
Not exactly a science fiction book, but just finished Mother Night by Vonnegut, incredible book.
Back to science fiction: I just started A Deepness In The Sky by Vernon Vinge, book 2 of his Zones Of Thought trilogy. I liked the first book a lot so looking forward to this.
The laundry files, a series by Charles Stross. He's brilliant and so precise with the details that even if it's science fiction it feels SO real.
I'm a huge fan of the Laundry Files books. Just finished Season of Skulls, the 3rd book in The New Management trilogy. It's a little less bleak than the first two books of the trilogy and very funny.
I'm now reading War Bodies by Neal Asher.
About halfway through Children or Ruin, the follow up to Children of Time. Really enjoy the series so far. Very impressed with the creativity.
Also read Project Hail Mary while on vacation a few weeks ago. I’m not sure Weir can ever match The Martian, but PHM was very enjoyable.
Yeah I really love the Children Of series. I just realised that part 3 is finally out, so now I know what I'll be reading next!
I haven't had the chance to read in a hot minute. I think it's because part of my brain is still waiting for book 3 of the king killer chronicles.
Considering a re-read of Iain Banks suite about The Culture. There are some real unique and out there concepts explored in those books that aren't touch by many other sci-fi series.
I was looking for someone in this thread reading the culture series. I'm currently reading Consider Phlebas because the main themes and world building sounded like something I would like but I'm really struggling. I'm about 20% in (it's an eBook) and I'm having trouble being focused reading it. I don't know why but I just don't care for Horza and I'm always wondering when it starts going deeper into The Culture. What do you think? Does it get better?
Oh, if what you want is deep stuff about The Culture, Phlebas is hardly it. It is usually recommended because it has the most traditional “Hero on a mission” plot structure and is also the first one ever published. It gets more exciting after the island cult section. But truly Horza is not a very charismatic protagonist, and the reader spends most of the time away from The Culture. I usually recommend to read The Player of Games first, it starts deep into The Culture and quickly breaks your head with the crazy stuff that happens when the plot gets going, and it actually has a relatable protagonist. If you want the most The Culture experience, Excession is perhaps the most esoteric one. There are basically no humanoid characters in that one. Surface Detail has the most relatable characters and plot, without neglecting hard sci-fi concepts.
Nice, so I started with the wrong one basically... I will follow your comment and go read the player of games after this. I was just afraid it never got better but you reassured me. I thought the series had some order so I started with the first one. Honestly, being separated books works even better for me. Thank you!
Oh no, this is not a serial. You pretty much won't ever see any reoccurring character. Other than some vague reference to Minds from previous books and some stories that share roughly the same time period (counted in the thousands of years), only The Culture itself and the Special Circumstances are semi-permanent fixtures of the books.
Oh cool! Thank you!
Strange, I read The Player of Games relatively recently, and I didn't care for it all that much. I just really couldn't root for Gurgeh. That kind of wrecked it for me.
I sort of lost interest in the series because of it. Does the next book in the series have a more sympathetic protagonist?
None of the books have a sympathetic protagonists. These are people who are morally and culturally so remote that you will almost never feel sympathetic for them. Some are straight up genocide for hire agents. Other are sexual perverts encouraged by the limitless nature of the power granted by they belonging to The Culture. Another few are neurotic messes. Curiously I find the stories and books that are lead by the Minds to be the most compelling and empathetic to the human condition. The most aliens of aliens are also usually way more sympathetic than the humanoids. You got to understand that Banks projected on The Culture the best but also the worst of Eurocentric (particularly English) colonialism, and with it all its anxieties and fears. Sometimes critically, sometimes not so much. This are not Americana pulp fiction Space Operas or young adult action packed dystopias. But more post-modernist elaborations on the fringes of human experience, or sentient experience altogether. Definitely an acquired taste and not meant to be read with a turned off brain.
Currently rereading City of Golden Shadow, the first book of the Otherland series by Tad Williams.
You're in for a treat.
I am thankful his father finally noticed the dedications. No telling how many volumes he would have done, otherwise.
I waffle on wishing Otherland would get a TV series, and being pretty sure any TV series done would end up kind of awful.
There's definitely a ton of potential for a series and I've definitely thought about it myself.
The challenge would be finding the balance between too much detail and making it boring, and not enough detail and making it confusing.
I should reread that. I once had and read the first 2 volumes, but never finished the series. It is time.
I'm reading Way of Kings right now, as well as back through the Harry Potter Series (just finished POA). Way of Kings is amazing.
The Bobiverse books are so damn good, read them last year
Listening to Becky Chambers' novellas right now. Finished "To be taught if fortunate" and "A Psalm for the wild-built", gonna do "A Prayer for the Crown-shy" soon.
Also started the Murderbot diaries by Marth Wells and finished the first book so far.
Love Chamber's works so much. Its such a warm bath of comfort.
Recently finished The Interdependency Series by John Scalzi. Reading Upgrade by Blake Crouch at the moment. I'm a huge fan of Murder Bot Diaries and The Bobiverse as well.
I'm half way through leviathan falls. Super excited to get to the end, sad because I don't know what to read after.
I'm 75% finished with the book myself! Going to jump into the Wheel of Time series after I cleanse my palette w/ some non sci-fi books
I finished shortly after I posted. I'm satisfied with how they ended it; it was a strong finish. I'm reading the faded sun trilogy now; it's pretty good so far.
Good luck on the wheel of time! I finished that a little less than a year ago. There are some GREAT books, but there are a couple that are stinkers. The fourth book, shadow rising, is so so so good. It's slows down I think in books six and seven, or maybe seven and eight, then the last few pickup again. Have fun, it will be a journey!
I finished it tonight. I preferred an all or nothing finale and so wasn't quite as enthused but c'est la vie.
I felt the same about some of the Expanse books slowing down in the middle as well fwiw (maybe slowing down isn't the right word, but there were 2-3 books where it felt like you had to read 60% of the book before the real problem emerged that made the storyline more gripping and less misc en scene-esque)
Yes, for me the whole free navy plot line could have been way more concise; seemed like it dragged on for much too long. There is a similar show down, or whatever the right word is, in wheel of time.
Regarding the ending, I think I've been so upset with endings of other stories so many times that my standard is "satisfied" or "not satisfied"; I would say I'm satisfied with the expanse. I liked the ending, but it didn't spark joy in me.
Im in the same boat. I just started the last book. ☹
On my 2nd time thru Book of the New Sun. Hoping to understand at least 12% of it this time.
I'm about 75% through Morning Star by Pierce Brown. It's book 3 of the Red Rising series. I wasn't really into the first book but it turned out ok. I'm not sure I'll buy the remaining books though.
Parable of the Sower
Cryptonomicon
Edit: I just realized this was the scifi community. Whoops
Finally picked up The Gunslinger by Stephen King after wanting to get into the series for a while. It's engrossing (and more brutal than I expected) so far, can't wait to find out what all the hubbub is about the ending.
Many people didn't like it, but I though book 4 (wizard and glass) was the best.
Wizard and Glass is where I fell off the series, didn’t end up getting far in that one. Although I think it had less to do with that particular book and more of the fatigue of trudging through the books for a few fantastic moments. I enjoyed The Drawing of Three but man it felt like it could’ve been about 30% shorter at times
I thought Wizard and Glass was a level changer. Up to that point, I was enjoying the series but after reading book 4 I was absolutely floored. My fav of the series.
Im on my last book of the wheel of time audiobook! Took me about two years to arrive here, maybe even more. It's superb! I hope to finish it before our child is born in August, so I can start with the next, rading it on my Kindle. Really can't wait to get to the end of it. The whole last three book reads like waiting on the next episode of a series. Constant cliffhangers. The next book will be the second and later books of the sounds of hyperion.
Must still highly recommend The three body problem books, some of my favourite sci fi ever.
Children of time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
I'm reading Deaths End the 3rd book in the "Three Body Problem" series.
Some of the best sci-fi I've ever read, super unique ideas, I was blown away with some of the concepts in this series.
I consume most of my books via audiobooks.
I'm just about to finish the final Expeditionary Force book, overall I really enjoyed the series, yes there were a few low points (we won't talk about the the audio drama one!) but I thought it held up well.
This is my list of upcoming books:
Memory called empire was good, as was ancillary justice.
I'm currently on ancillary sword and loving it.
Do you use audible for this? 👀
I don't subscribe to Audible. 😳
I'm still pretending to read Frankenstein, the OG sci fi novel, at least in modern fiction anyway. I say pretending though because it's been sitting on my bed stand for weeks untouched. It's beautifully well written, just haven't had time or attention span lately idk.
Turns out I don't understand half of the sentences in 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra', so back to sci-fi, it's time to finish the last three books of Hitchiker's Guide to The Galaxy.
I’ve been on an Ursula le guin kick. Finished Left Side of Darkness, started Earthsea series (just book one) and am finishing up Dispossessed (since it’s due back to inter library loan soon). But sure what’s next. I have the expanse books on hand, but the semesters about to start and things get busy.
Not sure if Riot Baby counts, but I just finished that and The Dreaming Void.
I’m tracking my progress through the Hugo award winners, so I’m now reading Rendezvous with Rama and have the Broken Earth trilogy on hand for when I’m done that.
Is it weird that I’m jealous that you have yet to read rendezvous with rama and broken erth for the first time? I loved both so much!
William Gibson - The difference engine
More of steam punk era with mechanical machines, enjoying it as Audiobook on the morning walks.
I finally decided to start reading the Warhammer books and ordered Horus Rising, so I should get started on that next week. All the cyberpunk and SF stuff I've seen on Lemmy lately has me itching to re-read Necromancer. I haven't read Count Zero yet, for some reason I only have Neuromancer and Mona Lisa Overdrive, so I think I'll order that soon too
Just finished Scalzi's Redshirts. Was a lot of fun. Laughed at every mention of control panels blowing up in bridge crew's faces for no logical reason. Didn't much care about the last few chapters that came after the main story though.
Ex force books are a blast. Characters are excellently presented and story never gets boring. There are some parts that feel like filler but that's unavoidable with 15 book series.
Empire of Man.
Frank Herbert's Dune, a great read. The new movie is actually quite faithful to the novel.
Neal Stephenson - REAMDE
I recently finished Fall; or Dodge in Hell and didn’t know it was the same universe! So now I’m reading the prequel lol. Still quite enjoyable.
The Wheel of Time
The Stormlight archive- Brandon Sanderson
Recently finished The Expanse series and Three Body Problem series, those were both great adventures. I'm getting started on All Tomorrows now
Just started The Passage by Justin Cronin (audiobook) and I’m loving it, and I’m about to finish Witch King (dead tree) by Martha Wells, which has also been fantastic.
Up next in dead tree edition is gonna be something off my bookshelf at home. Not sure what I’m in the mood for yet but I’m leaning towards Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I want to re-read that and Eyes of the Void to prep for Lords of Uncreation.
Happy to talk about Wheel of Time. Did you make it all the way to the end?
I’ve read the whole series twice, once when the last book was finally released and again during the pandemic.
If you’re still on Reddit, there was a great sub for WoT memes
I'll talk about wheel of time all day - somewhere around a dozen rereads its been a comfort staple my whole life man, now my wife is on her 2nd listen through, 3rd book, and I still enjoy the ride every damn time.
What's up with all the boob talk?
Gender and identity are critical components of their works and magical system. So there’s an abundance of such talk, especially as our protagonists move around the world from one culture to the next
Also, the author was a horn dog
Lol, right right.
I just finished a book by Carlton Mellick the third called, Every time we meet at the dairy queen your whole fucking face explodes. Its probably even weirder than you are thinking, but very fun and enjoyable.
I am just starting the Fitz and the Fool trilogy. I have enjoyed the other trilogies in this series.
Looking forward to rereading mistborn so I remember wax and Wayne before jumping into the lost metal.
isn't "Fitz and the Fool" part of that Assassin's Apprentice trilogy by Robin Hobb? goes to find oh! another trilogy. I'll have to check it out. I loved the Assassin's Apprentice trilogy.
Last book of the Expanse
The inverted frontier series by Linda Nagata has been quite fun for me. Waiting for book four.
Dungeon crawler Carl. It's a funny romp.
Reading? No. But listing to The Witcher Season of Storm. Also starting on Quantum Earth series by Dennis Taylor.
Just listened to the full cast audiobook of Alien: Out of the shadows. Nothing amazing but was a fun listen. Before that was Artemis, not as good as Project Hail Mary imo but still quite enjoyable. I think Recursion is going to be my next read, but I'm open to suggestions.
I don't normally plan my reading much ahead of time but August is an exception on a few counts.
Firstly, Whalefall by Daniel Kraus comes out on August 8th. It's such a goofy idea for a story (think Jonah and the Whale meets The Martian) and I have been so pumped, I've been talking people's ear off about it for months. It's like scientifically accurate Pinocchio.
Secondly, one of the bookclub picks for the Discord server affiliated with ![email protected] is The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K LeGuin
And then it's Tropeical Readathon (a semiannual reading challenge thing) again so I have a couple dozen books picked out to cover that, but the only other sci-fi one apart from the above is Under This Forgetful Sky by Lauren Yero.
Just about to start “The Three Body Problem”. It’s been on my list for a while now, so looking forward to it!
Just finished an interesting and totally original read, “The Psychology Of Time Travel” which is basically a time-travelling murder mystery.
I just finished The Psychology Of Time Travel, too! Fantastic read. I especially appreciated the consideration given to how a time traveling organization would function as an agency. That's rare.
Reading through Book of the New Sun. Definitely an underrated sci fi series.
Just finished Translation State by Ann Leckie. Loved it for a while, got tired of it by the end. Felt it descended into whimsy
I started Mistborn two weeks ago... It's awesome!
Finished Prelude to Foundation (fantastic!), now starting Children of Ruin (so far so good).
Just started reading "To Sleep in a Sea of Stars". (Christopher Paolini)
It's huge, but so far the pacing moves quickly enough to keep from getting bogged down.
Finished Tiamat's Wrath last week and have started Foundation's Edge. The Expanse has been excellent, but i am starting to find The Foundation to be a bit tedious. Second Foundation started to just feel silly with all the psychic abilities just thrown in all of a sudden and all the characters are starting to blend into each other as non-descript 1950's Americans. That being said i am enjoying Foundation's Edge a lot more than Second Foundation but am lookin forward to finishing it so i can move on to Dune Messiah.
Just finished the three body problem. Started recursion and then probably will do the dark forest.
Just about to finish the final book in the Remembrance of Earth's Past Trilogy (Deaths End). Have just picked up The City and the Stars for my August read as Cixin Lui was giving me Arthur C. Clarke vibes with his incredible hard sci-fi epic
I'm starting Woken Furies by Richard Morgan. I watched the Netflix Altered Carbon series and figured the books would be worth a read, and so far they have been!
About to finish Snow Crash, and I was just thinking about reading Seveneves afterwards. Is it good? How does it compare to Cryptonomicon and Snow Crash (the only other Stephenson books I've read)?
Just finished Frugal Wizards Guide, by Sanderson.
It wasn't what I was expecting, but found it weird and fun. As per most of Sanderson's books, I fell down the sanderlanch, and read it in 2 days.
I enjoyed The Year's Best Science Fiction anthologies edited by Gardner Dozois until his passing. I just discovered its spiritual successor, The Best Science Fiction of the Year edited by Neil Clarke, and am catching up now.
I’m not reading par se but I’m an audiobook fan and also a fan of the Star Wars Expanded Universe (Legends). I’m enjoying listening to the new recordings of the first Thrawn trilogy.
These re-recordings will probably be the last of its kind, given Disney’s declaration of non-canon.
Audiobooks definitely count as reading.
When people say they "enjoy reading" they are almost certainly not saying they "enjoy dragging their eyes across a page of text." If you're getting the content into your brain, you're reading!
Martha Wells Murder Bot series (All Systems Red is the title in the post picture) is fun as well as quick and easy to read.
I will say it's not my favorite type of scifi but her writing style paired with the fun stories sucked me in.
Currently listening to the audiobook of The City and the City by China Meiville (Maybe should have read this one instead of the audiobook)
Currently reading the current F&SF magazine issue
The audiobook versions of the Murderbot series read by Kevin R. Free is my guilty pleasure. I have listened to them all in order about seven times. It's great in the background during menial work.
Pride and Prejudice. Finishing soon.. another classic down.
Currently working through Stephen King's dark tower series, on book 4 so getting through them quick. First time I've read any of his stuff but I'm hooked.
I'm re-reading the red rising series right now to be up to date for the new book that just released. Very excited to get to it
I just finished Season of Skulls by Charles Stross. 3rd book of the New Management series... a sort of sequel series to the Laundry Files.
a world without visa by ean Malaquais
https://libcom.org/article/world-without-visa
tough to get into but worth every page, but far from accessible if you are not known to french and russian names en masse
I've been reading a thrift store find as of late, "The Mammoth Book Of Best New SF 11", a short story collection first published in 1998, ed. Gardner Dozois by Robinson Publishing.
In general I've been reading different sci fi short story collections of as of late, while waiting for the next Final Architecture -book to drop.
I´m reading select texts about what is grassroots-community action. It has been quite nice. The book is in Portuguese though.
Just finished reading an older series: Nine Princes in Amber. Doesn't age as well as I'd like.
Last day of my vacation and I've begun my third book in as many days. Just read Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson, followed by A Winter Grave by Peter May. Both books were great, hence why I swallowed them so fast.
Have just started on Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny, and so far it seems promising.
I'm reading the Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan, which is the first book of the Kane's Chronicles. I'm also reading Queen of Shadows by Sarah j. Maas.
I'm reading the Silo series after watching the show, it is pretty good so far.
Love to see Leviathan Wakes in the graphic as well
Just fulinished A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge. Didn't enjoy as much as A Fire Upon the Deep, but it was still a good space opera. Some uncomfortable sex scenes though.
I bought both Asimov collections, and after reading the I, Robot edition pictured above, I started Prelude to Foundation.
Start WoT now, and you might finish by Christmas
Picked up 2 different series by Will Wight cause they were free on amazon for a while, and very impressed
Halfway through Cradle, on book 6 and it's actually really good; a naruto-eque world with well thought out power progression, great world building and characters, with plenty of peril and few dull moments
I'm not a big book reader, but a friend got me "The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla and Other Works". It's sitting on my nightstand when I can motivate to crack a boot. The book I finished before it was "Brief Answers to the Big Questions" by Stephen Hawking.
I like reading works from Scientists. I can't understand their research papers because of the math, but I enjoy the works they do for the layman.
Just beginning The Mountain of Mars, book 8 of Glynn Stewart’s Starship’s Mage series.
My recent reads:
Just started Bloom by Wil Mccarthy.
Why all the old stuff?
I'm currently reading The Stars, Like Dust. By Issac Asimov. Seems decent I haven't been completely invested in the main character like I was in The Currents of Space (I know I read book 2 before book 1). But I like Asimov so I'll finish it it'll be a quick read anyways. I plan to finish the Galactic Empire series and then start Foundation (Finally!).
I'm on book 5 of the Wheel of Time on Audible. I hope the TV series keeps going but it sounds like a lot of people think it's meh.
I'm midway through the Inda quartet by Sherwood Smith – just started King's Shield
I'm currently on the Liveship series, after just finishing the Farseer Trilogy. Prior to that was Mistborn 1-3, and I only mention the chronology because it all started May 2022 with the WoT series, and that's on the picture up there so I'm lumping the rest of these into science fiction I suppose, despite Mistborn potentially being the only one that you could really call science fiction.
I've read all these series. WoT seemed to drag toward the end and i didnt care for the last few chapters. It felt like there was too much to wrap up with too few pages so it felt rushed and unsatisfying.
I love all works by Sanderson so I've read all mistborn(except the new one from last November #7 I think). Excellent series. Have you read Elantris by Sanderson. I thought that was a very unique one off book that I couldn't put down.
I just started the final set in the farseer/liveship series. I loved the first farseer trilogy. I felt the second trilogy(live ship trilogy) had a significant change of pace and almost skipped it. I really liked the first person view of fitz. In the end it was good and there are a few tie ins to later trilogies.
I only read Mistborn 1-3 from Branderson. I intend to check out more of his works, but he needs to finish the one, Stormlight maybe, before I pick that up, I will not find myself in the situation GRRM and Rothfus have put their fans. And what I've read and know of Brandon Sanderson, I have faith he will finish, it I'm not one to put stock in faith so I want to see it published.
I picked up Farseer and absolutely loved it, and it's odd because the first-person was a real change of pace. Name of the Wind was first person essentially, but that series has kinda left me annoyed and so I didn't have faith first-person could do well, and I'm glad to have been shown it could. The pacing of Farseer was great for me, I felt like it went from slow burn to much happening over the course of the three.
I'm on chapter three of first Liveship, I have a terrible time remembering the names of books. I'll read the whole trilogy, I don't think it'll fail my 10% test, where if I'm unsatisfied at 10% I put it down, and so I'll just plow through. Definitely feels different now, and any relationships only tangential from existing in the same universe.
Depending how this goes, I either finish up this Robin Hobb series, 12 or 14 books or whatever, and go back to one of the Sanderson series, which name I also cannot remember.
And as to WoT, the last book could've stretched it's legs a little more. Which is crazy because the last three books were technically just one in Jordan's version of the telling.
You gotta read the latest Mistborn, it's fantastic! Best of the 2nd part imo.
I'm currently resuming my read through of "John Carter of Mars", with "Warlords of Mars", and continuing through Glynn Stewart's Duchy of Terra series with "Shield of Terra".
I can't help compare Glynn Stewart with Edgar Rice Burroughs, in that they both write such reliably entertaining series.
Though I suppose Stewart is aiming for Asimov in the volume category. As a big reader, I sure appreciate that.
I've just finished all Daniel Suarez's books. I found his visions of a tech future interesting. Best ones for me were Daemon, then the sequel freedom™, Change Agent, Delta V and the sequel Critical Mass - all great reads imo. Only book I didn't like was kill Decision.
Just started Illuminae the other day and I am powering through it. It's a completely different style book and I am loving the way the story is presented. Can't wait to finish it.
My wife and I are on T.A. White's Phoenix Chronicles. We both really love the series and once we finish this it will be hard to find a replacement series for us to read.
Currently working on book 5 of Gaunt's Ghosts. It's been a few months since I read a chapter though because of busy life has been.
After reading Necropolis, it's gonna be hard for the rest of the series to match it.
Right now I'm listening to Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny. It's probably an interesting story, but the narrator is awful. Sometimes he reads without any pauses so it feels like you are listening to a wall of text. There is also very little inflection in his voice as he reads so it is hard to stay engaged. I'm going to stick with it if I can, but I'm not holding much hope.
I’m currently reading Sword and Citadel, second half of The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe.
I read the first half, and I have to say, it just did not speak to me. Felt like a mysogynistic Holden Caulfield guest-starring in every segment of the Heavy Metal movie.
I’m planning on reading The Expanse at some point, but currently I’m not reading any sci-fi, since I’m reading A Game of Thrones and Empire of Ivory.
Would mort count?
I’m coming up to the crescendo (hopefully) of Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson. I can’t say that I’ve loved it as much as some of his previous work but it’s got 150 pages left to change that.
Ive liked Neals books progressively less every release after Cryptonomicon, which is a shame because that book is great. They’re getting to be such slogs at this point.
Agreed - though I loved Anathem and couldn’t put it down at the time, I couldn’t go back to it.
I'm reading the Wool omnibus from the library before I start watching Silo.
I have read and love the top 2 rows you've got there. I think I'm going to have to check out those last three.
I just finished "Drop City" by T.C. Boyle and picked up "Blue Skies". I'm only 2 chapters into "Blue Skies" so can't really say much about it, though it feels a lot like "Tortilla Curtain".
"Drop City" did not involve any characters who were writers, was not set in LA and established two sets of characters in highly disparate settings in the Sixties and of their eventual intersection. Well worth it.
Is this just for sci-fi or books in general? In July I didn't read any sci fi, just fantasy stuff.
Preferably science fiction books. Sometimes these genres mix as it is more like a spectrum from one to the other, but preferably this community leans more towards the science fiction side of that.
I've been taking a short break from Malazan Book of the Fallen recently, by exploring some new, lighter books, especially while at work, but I think I'm going to get back into it in August.
Snowden's book: Permanent Record has a lot of good context info for the governments shitty practices and overwhelming involvement in our personal lives
if u wanna use ur brain more efficiently read Donella Meadows: Thinking in Systems
I also wanna read steve jackson's sci-fi book that got him sued by the secret service... its gotta be good right?
Trying to punch through Seasons of Skulls by Charles Stross.
Finally got to finish Death's End. Got really dark by the end ans current life events dont really support this kind of reading.
I just finished The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei. It was a decent page-turner that kept me wanting to read the next chapter.
Still haven't decided what to read next. Are there any good newish cyberpunk books?
Does Silo counts as Sci-fi, I read the novels after binge watching the series with my wife. After the cliffhanger ending I just need to know the story and proceeded to binge read the whole series under a week.
Yes absolutely. I've seen some things that people considered sci-fi that were way more into the fantasy side of the spectrum, but Silo is solidly science fiction.
Yea, 100% sci-fi. The only (poor) argument against it being science-fiction is that ... it doesn't involve space?
Just started the Vorkosigan Saga. It's okay. It's growing on me, but I don't think it's anything to write home about. I'll stick it out through the first book and see how it goes.
Which book are you starting with? You'll get a very different vibe depending on whether you're starting with Dreamweaver's Dilemma, Shards of Honor, or The Warrior's Apprentice.
It's a long series with a super wide range. If you like Warrior's Apprentice, you'll probably like most of the series.
Started with shards of honor. Any recommendations on which one I should read next?
I was about to pick up Seveneves next. And then come back to the Vorkosigan Saga.
Either Barrayar (it directly continues the story from Shards) or Warrior's Apprentice (published the same year as Shards, different story arc but relevant characters).
Thanks for the recommendation. I heard Warrior's Apprentice was rather basic. What's your opinion on it, if you don't mind me asking?
Audacious.
Miles, the main character, has tremendous audacity, and I found it hilarious!
Huh, now I'm going to have to start re-reading the series :)
Oh crap! Potty training by Jamie Glowacki
tower by bae myung-hoon, early days yet.
Last few I've read recently:
Just started Infinity Gate today, actually - not too far in yet, but it'll go quick.
Cool
Not enough Heinlein!
I forgot the story of Time Out of Joint by Philip K. Dick so I decided to read it again.
Just finished the Silo trilogy before jumping into the TV series. was good, on both counts
About to pick up Children of Time. I listened to the audiobook a while back but didnt feel like i really absorbed it all that much.
Just finished Brute Force by Scott Meyers. It's scifi with a hilarious tone. Highly recommend for an easy and entertaining read.